Pulmonary Excellence Award from Healthgrades

Lumberton, NC (October 23, 2012) – – Pulmonary care atSoutheastern Regional Medical Centeris in the top 5 percent in the nation according to a new report from Healthgrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital.

The report, American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, evaluates how approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide performed on risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for nearly 30 of the most common conditions treated and procedures performed from 2009 through 2011.

In its study published today, Healthgrades found that patients have a 75 percent lower risk of dying when treated at a hospital receiving five stars than if they were treated at a hospital receiving one star, based on risk-adjusted mortality rates across 18 common procedures and diagnoses, such as heart bypass surgery, stroke, and pneumonia. Healthgrades also found that 235,378 lives could have been saved during 2009-2011 if all hospitals performed at a 5-star level.

Making objective measures of hospital quality more publicly available is imperative for helping consumers make more informed provider decisions. According to new research conducted by Harris Interactive for Healthgrades, 89 percent of Americans in 27 top designated market areas believe hospital performance (defined as how well patients do at that hospital compared to others) is important but only 37 percent know where to find the information.

Other notable SRMC Healthgrades recognitions include:

Cardiac

Ranked #3 in NC for Overall Cardiac Services in 2013

Ranked #2 in NC for Cardiology Services in 2013

Ranked Among the Top 5 in NC for Overall Cardiac Services for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013) (Ranked 3 in 2013)

Ranked Among the Top 5 in NC for Cardiology Services for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013) (Ranked 2 in 2013)

Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Heart Failure for 7 Years in a Row (2007-2013)

Orthopedic

Five-Star Recipient for Hip Fracture Treatment for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013) Pulmonary

Recipient of the HealthGrades Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™ for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)

Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services in 2013

Ranked #5 in NC for Overall Pulmonary Services in 2013

Ranked Among the Top 10 in NC for Overall Pulmonary Services for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013) (Ranked 5 in 2013)

Five-Star Recipient for Overall Pulmonary Services for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)

Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease for 6 Years in a Row (2008-2013)

Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Pneumonia for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013) Gastrointestinal

Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of GI Bleed for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013) Critical Care

Ranked #8 in NC for Critical Care in 2013

Ranked Among the Top 10 in NC for Critical Care for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013) (Ranked 8 in 2013)

Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013)

Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Respiratory Failure for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013)

“Southeastern Regional Medical Center is committed to providing our patients with excellent care in a quality, compassionate and efficient manner,” said Joann Anderson, Southeastern’s president and CEO. “These ratings demonstrate that we value our patients and work hard to provide them with high quality care.”

Southeastern has continued to invest in improving both clinical and non-clinical processes through its Quest for Excellence program, expanding services and locations throughout Robeson County and the surrounding area, and acquiring state-of-the-art technology such as the da Vinci Surgical System, which features robot-assisted surgery used by doctors for a wide range of surgical procedures.

For its 2013 hospital quality outcomes analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 40 million Medicare hospitalization records for services performed at short-term, acute care hospitals nationwide. Healthgrades independently measures hospitals based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being measured, and no hospital pays to be measured. Healthgrades risk adjusts for patient demographic characteristics and clinical risk factors, thereby taking into account how sick patients were before they were admitted to the hospital.

More information on the American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, including the complete methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality.

About Southeastern Regional Medical Center

Southeastern Regional Medical Center, a non-profit organization, is designated as a Magnet facility and is accredited by The Joint Commission. The medical center is licensed for 452 beds and offers a combination of acute care, intensive care and psychiatric services to more than 15,000 inpatients and 81,000 emergency patients annually. The Medical Center is a comprehensive health care system which offers a wide array of health care services through its affiliated divisions.